1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to devices for removing fingernail polish and in particular relates to a molded container having an insertible one piece molded bristle liner suitable for removing fingernail polish from the thumb and fingers of either hand.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art contains many references directed to nail polish removal receptacles which support or suspend an insert structure to aid in the removal of hardened nail polish from fingernails after a finger has been immersed in nail polish remover contained within the receptacle. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,474,195; 4,440,181; and 4,282,891 disclose nail polish remover devices in which a receptacle is provided with a sponge or sponge-like absorbent member insert. The sponge member insert is formed with an aperture forming a finger hole into which the finger is placed. The absorbent sponge absorbs nail polish remover and upon insertion of the finger into the sponge aperture, the polished fingernail comes into contact with the sponge and nail polish remover solution to remove the polish from the nail. The solution and polish fragments are wiped from the inserted fingernail by the sponge as the fingernail is removed from the receptacle jar. A multilayer foam surgical scrub sponge similar to those shown in the patents noted above is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 4,866,806. In this reference a removable serrated insert is accommodated in the center of the sponge to enable insertion of the fingers to cleanse and disinfect the cuticle areas.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,480,351 discloses a surgical scrub brush provided with two sets of brushes in each side of the molded container body. The brush bristles are formed with a configuration of smaller bristles disposed in a longitudinal channel or gap between taller bristle groups whose tips are laterally exposed to facilitate nail cleaning. The individual bristle members have a triangular cross-section.
Another surgical scrub brush is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,966,335. This patent features four bristle-lined troughs for simultaneous scrubbing of the four fingers. Rows of relatively short stiff bristles are used for cleaning the finger tips, nails, and under the nails.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,397,324 discloses a nail polish receptacle which is provided with a brush member disposed in the receptacle by wire legs which support the brush element in the approximate determines of a circular finger opening. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,321,936 discloses a nail polish remover receptacle containing a plurality of downwardly spaced apart free floating legs with an inwardly curved end portion. The legs have bristles or brush like elements secured thereto which extend inward. When a person inserts a finger into the device, the finger will contact the bristles and push the legs outward in such a manner that the nail polish remover liquid on the bristles will remove the nail polish from the fingernails. U.S. Pat. No. 3,316,922 discloses a nail polish remover device in which a circular brush with a circular open center is mounted on a group of abutments extending inwardly from an insert surface. The brush member is positioned on the abutments and the brush stem is moved against the abutments to snap into an inclined position. In U.S. Pat. No. 2,771,621 a reciprocating spring braced member carries a brush head with bristles extending into a recess into which a finger is placed to remove the nail polish.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,397,324 discloses a combination golf ball and club head cleaner that is mounted to the fender of a golf cart or post. The device includes a watertight housing having a first brush-lined chamber for cleaning a golf ball and a second brush-lined parallelepiped chamber for cleaning a golf club. A ball holder mounted for reciprocation along its vertical axis in the ball cleaning chamber retains a golf ball allowing it to rotate when scrubbed. Brushes lining the first chamber scrub the ball as the holder is reciprocated.
An apparatus for cleaning and sanitizing combs through mechanical bristles and disinfectant fluids is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,454,131. The apparatus includes a container having a rectangular base with enlarged rectangular front and rear walls and smaller rectangular side walls. The container further includes a lid having a lower open end which is removably positioned on the upper edges of the walls. A plurality of pointed semi-rigid bristles are secured to the interior surfaces of the front and rear walls of the container.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,048,547 and 4,819,672 issued to the present inventor disclose a cylindrical housing holding a one piece brush assembly which has inwardly projecting integral triangular shaped bristles configured to receive a finger and remove the fingernail polish.
One patent of interest which is directed toward cleaning the thumb and fingers of a hand is U.S. Pat. No. 4,476,883. This patent discloses an U-shaped container assembly for applying a predetermined liquid or solution to the fingernails of a person. A sponge material is disposed in the interior of a housing and is provided with a plurality of recesses dimensioned and configured to receive the fingertip and the fingernail of the user in a predetermined array facilitating placement of all the fingers and thumbs in the various recesses. A liquid or solution is applied to the interior of the housing and the sponge material and the housing is filled to a level sufficient to form small pools in the bottom of each of the finger recesses.
Another thumb and finger cleaner, U.S. Pat. No. 5,065,778 discloses a fingernail polish removing container with a base, and a lid, and a fingernail scrubbing structure mounted within the container in spaced relation to the container base bottom wall and to the lid top wall. In some of the disclosed embodiments the finger nail scrubbing structure is supported within the container base, and includes five finger bore openings, four of which are of substantially equal diameter on a circle with the fifth bore opening, a thumb tip receiving opening, being of greater diameter than the other four finger openings and displaced closer to the center of the fingernail scrubbing structure to receive simultaneously the fingernails of the fingers and thumb of one hand. The finger bore openings are provided with sponge like inner walls to remove nail polish from the nails, and the nail polish removing liquid is sloshed between the bottom and the upper chambers to saturate the finger bore opening wall surfaces.
Another finger nail cleaning patent which uses a mechanical pump assembly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,020,856, pulsates jets of liquid to the ends of the fingers of a user's hand while the hand is positioned on a grooved hand rest.
It can thus be seen that the aforenoted patents do not teach or disclose the present invention which utilizes a molded container having a removable one piece integrally molded bristle liner which provides a simple means of removing nail polish from the thumb nail and fingernails of each hand in a clean environment relatively free of bacteria and virus. Many of the above cited patents use sponge or sponge-like product to apply nail polish remover to the fingernails. There are health reservations about the use of sponge product in beauty salons because of the occurrence of bacterial collection and growth in the sponge.